


A forgotten past

by WhiteWidow96



Category: Dota 2
Genre: Headcanon, History, Not porn, Other, Worldbuilding, sfw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-04
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2019-03-26 01:59:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13847688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiteWidow96/pseuds/WhiteWidow96
Summary: The Harbinger reflects on the days that he was naught but a centaur, before all the corruption spread to him.





	A forgotten past

**Author's Note:**

> Surprise surprise, unlike all of my fics this is safe-for-work and is about Outworld Devourer!

It was a generic winter's day. 

The wind blew harshly as the snow fell from the skies in the form of small flakes that heaped onto whatever it touched. It formed large white banks of snow quickly for the people and critters to leave their marks in, and the Harbinger was no exception.

He had come into the unknown lands, barren and scathed as it were flat lands of broken grass, dirt and rubble from whatever civilization had left. Tracks were straight through this lands that were overgrown because many people avoided this, yet all of it was unseen as a thick layer of snow covered it all.

Many who'd travel here wouldn't even stand still to the history of this place, remnant of a battlefield, a city of a bygone era, a city brought down with wrath, or maybe a byproduct from foul sorcery. It could be all of these things yet there was only one man at this point who'd even knew. And that man was the very Outworld Devourer himself. Every few years or so he took time off from his duties to revisit the lands that were once the lands he grew up and lived on, exploring what was left and tending to that there was to be. There were a few landmarks here and there that he'd know, but there was so much gone that it was hard for him to even come here in the first place. Only he held the thruth, and everything else was shrouded in a cloud of lies and myths. No-one knew what happened truly.

And that was good. The Harbinger didn't like his story to ever be leaked out, for the fate of his people to be truly recognized, and the fact that he still lived- yet simply in another appearance, served him rightful to authorize whatever came out too. Ofcourse, with all of the things going on and the unreliability of mankind, that meant it was a hard job. But his "Outworld Devourer" moniker and the tales of it made sure that invoked fear in the minds of those who'd ever dare tell such a thing.

 

Regardless, with all those things happening, the Harbinger decided it was some well-deserved self-time. The winds blew it's cold as the Harbinger landed in the plains. A huff came from his stone maw as his eyes darted around, eventually he reached to his bag which had some supplies to it, and with the snap of his fingers a little rift was created. It rippled time and place, and as a construct came out of it, it closed. The construct was left to form as the Harbinger waited a bit for it. Once done appeared one of his well-known allies, a little devourling, popular in his eyes, and absolutely adorable despite the fact that it was a spitting image of him.

"..Sorry about that, Fidget." He spoke softly, smiling as he gave it a scratch behind the 'ears'. "Let's go." He then added, his sturdy feet bringing him forth. The snow crushed underneath his rather sensitive feet, and every step was a bit uncomfortable too. It was a thing he had to live with, and it seemed that the Devourling would rather sit on the back of the Harbinger rather than walking on the snow. It was something he was reminded of hgimself once he was a small man, but it was the life before that where he wasn't made of Obsidian that brought him here.

 

A flashback triggered.

_The sun bloomed from the skies, birds chirping as the gentle winds from mid-spring flushed through the many leaves of trees and bushes. Wildlife flourished, and the centaurs that roamed those lands were living happily as ever. Arodarus roamed the lands with a great smile, and as he did his duties, he did a good thing too._

_It was a common occurance for Arodarus, to carry books and tomes for his elder, Muvil. Muvil was a well-respected scribe with knowledge like no other centaur in those lands. His collection was full of common and rare, books spanning from new to old with a worth like no other. His apprentice, Arodarus was mostly in charge of cleaning, hauling and carrying whatever Muvil needed. Despite the basic work, Arodarus was allowed to read his collection, expanding his knowledge, and the carrying even granted him a good body!_

_It was no unknown secret that Arodarus was a fast learner, his mind was great and even had some formidable strength. If his bruteness didn't work, his mind took it's place. But Arodarus was a peaceful person, patient and kind unlike Muvil. Muvil himself was old, grumpy and condescending on those that were a generation ahead. Skeptical as always._

_"Arodarus! I need to you to get me some water from the river, there's not enough to water the plants right now, got it?" Asked the elder Centaur, in which his apprentice replied with a sigh, eventually nodding._

_"..Very well, I'll go." Arodarus replied, getting up from his rest as he stretched. His long braids of white hair being in the way as he put that behind his ears. His emerald eyes shined across, and he stretched a bit. His body was clothed by some simple, yet elegant garbs that he had saved up from, and as he set out he sent a sincere "Til soon." to his Elder._

_Out he went, where he was greeted by some friends and acquantainces. A small talk went through it was he met some people, yet the thing that he had to do was gather water. After all, he was carrying quite some jugs on his sides._

_He went to the local spring instead of the river, a path that wasn't too hard to walk, since some locals decided to lay a stone path here. It was a welcome change, and as he walked over it, his soft paws were rewarded with a good ground underneath. He walked through it, and as he reached the spring he noticed a.. disruption in weather. He looked up and saw some odd, green lights pass as it began to rain just slightly, and his gaze frowned._

_"..Rain, it's not supposed to pour today, ..odd." He said, and with the suspicion growing in his head, the centaur went to the side of the spring and lowered his body, filling every jug of water quickly as he felt asif he had to hurry up if he didn't want to arrive soaked. He filled up about all four, put a cork in it and got up. He groaned as the rain took up in intensity and decided to gallop a bit. His paws clattered over the stone road._

_However the closer he got to his local town, the more he realized there was something wrong. He saw.. smoke. Why was there dark smoke? And why was there a looming, electric green presence that he had never felt before? Something was going on, and he knew not what. His eyes widened as he saw strange, black stone enveloping houses and crumbling the nature, and worry grew further as he heard clashing and shouting._

_Something was wrong._

 

_With little thought, Arodarus hurried himself quickly to Muvil. What was going on? He was quite honestly scared and afraid, and ran through the unrecognizable chaos and smoke as he noticed how it prickled his skin as he went through the fogs. It was like little stings and splinters that touched his arms and head, shoulders and chest as he uncomfortably groaned. He got closer and closer to Muvil's house, but fate unpacked in a horrifying way as it was.. gone. There was naught left but black stone and destroyed wood, and a shape that looked like a centaur was left in the middle, crumbling and tearing itself apart slowly like a burnt-out piece of charcoal. His eyes widened in shock as he undid the jars that weighed him down, and fear took it's toll as he began to think irrationally._

_His mind scrambled and broken, Arodarus felt the stinging only hurt more as he got a clouded mind, he darted his eyes around carefully as he got more scared, and at one point he just began to ran into a direction away from the town. The screams were scratched into his mind, and the pain didn't stop as he saw how black rocks were forming on his hands and face, even his back and on slight parts of his chest too. God it hurt, and he saw how little trails of blood came from the edges of it. He stopped at an area in the wild, away from the town, yet quickly enough.. he collapsed from all the pain and suffering he had endured, and everything became hazy._

 

The Harbinger snapped back from reality, his senses turning outward again as he let out a stuttering huff, his mind felt shook as he noticed how he was sitting and he felt.. a liquid stream from his eyes. He reached for it, and surprisingly to himself, it was a tear.

He could still cry. That was re-assuring to himself, knowing that some humanity survived. A few emotional huffs came out as he rubbed his hands over his head, and he got up as he saw how Fidget was looking at him, concerned and worrying.

"..I'm fine, Fidget." He said, smiling a little as he nodded. He eventually got up, looked around and went to another point in the barren lands. What was empty to some, was as recognizable as ever for the Harbinger. He moved around to get to a different place, clear his mind and eventually recognize where he was. This was the spot where his last memory lasted when he was the man before this life, and it honestly was a bad thing to see. An outline still laid under the snow which he wouldn't see, but he still noticed how it was there. It didn't feel good, but he wanted to wallow into the feel.

He got closer to the ground again, and slowly his conscience faded as he was back in the lands of flashbacks.

 

_Halls of black with green light, temperature was null and wind was about none. His limbs felt strange and cold, and his head felt throbbing and solid as his body looked.. different._ _Spikes and pieces of obsidian covered his body, a shocking realization as he noticed how green energies pulsated throughout it. His head was spinning as he began to realize as he had transformed, and what was even more frustrating was the fact that he remembered very little, and many other things were artificially put in. He had some newfound might and strength, but to what extent? It was asif he was brainwashed with his consience gone and just now let back into it. But where was he?_

_"You there, Harbinger." A loud voice spoke, unrecognizable in Arodarus' mind as he never truly realized that he felt targeted by the name Harbinger, but how? The brainwashing and implementation he had recieved was terrifying, and it explained his throbbing. Though one thing was even more strange, he felt asif he should panic about his appearance, but he didn't._

_"Through countless of millenia you have been trained to recieve might, strength, abilities and many more. You shall use this as you will be sent back to the world you once came from, to protect it from the people." He said. Though before the Harbinger even realized what was going on, he was sent away from it and instead teleported to a location he didn't recognize._

_It was all blank, an empty field with no recognizable parts whatsoever. There was only a stone road that interested his mind, but as he stood on it, it all came back._

_The very empty field he was standing on suddenly was recognized. It was his old home town, destroyed, decayed and swallowed by the world as a whole as he realized how it suddenly was rendered into none but a road. He stopped for a while as his eyes widened, a tight grip to the staff he was gifted after millenia of hard work, and the shcoking realization made him feel doubtful of his future and scared of his past. What could he have done here? What was actually happening? It was all too much, and he instead shrugged off the thought as he followed the commands of the voice that he heard. A voice he'd hear for a long while before becoming the last of his own after millenia of his services._

 

Though again, the Harbinger snapped back to reality. He took a deep, stammering breath as he heard himself mutter cries and felt tears stream down his cheeks. It was all too hard for him to process what he had lived through, and as his own punishment had served well, the Harbinger looked at his devourling pet and hopped on, opening a rift for the two for them to get away.


End file.
